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113 




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ILITARY CHARACTER, 
HABIT, DEPORTMENT, 
COURTESY and DISCIPLINE 







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Book ,~«J><3 
Copvriphi N° 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MILITARY 

CHARACTER, HABIT, DE 

PORTMENT, COURTESY 

AND DISCIPLINE 



BY 

CAPTAIN M: B. STEWART 

UNITED STATES ARMY 



Prepared under the direction of the Academic Board of 

Instruction for use in the Training School, 

Massachusetts Volunteer 

Militia. 






Copyright 1913 

by 

M. B. STEWART 



the collegiate press 

George Banta Publishing Company 

Menasha, Wis. 



sd-o 



©CI.A354932 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter I. — Military Character: Importance, Definition; 
Private Character: Effect on the Public; Analysis of 
Military Qualities : Patriotism, How Evidenced, Mili- 
tary Obligations; Education and Training: Extent, 
How Attained; Leadership: Will Power, Willingness 
to Assume Responsibility, Knowledge of Human Na- 
ture, Courage, Physical Courage, Moral Courage; 
Military Character, How Acquired ; A Motto 1 

Chapter II. — Military Habit and Deportment: Defini- 
tion, How Evidenced, Bearing, Personal Appearance, 
Military Courtesy, Discipline, Order and System, De- 
votion to "Duty ; The Habit of Loyalty, The Habit of 
Being Patriotic 25 

Chapter III. — Military Courtesy: Definition, The Spirit 
of Military Courtesy, Origin, Importance, Source, 
Regulations, Position of Attention, Removal of Hat, 
The Salute, General Requirements in Saluting, How 
Rendered, The Salute with the Hand, The Sabre Sa- 
lute, The Rifle Salute, The Salute Indoors, The Sa- 
lute on Official Occasions, Whom to Salute, The Sa- 
lute to the Color, The Star Spangled Banner, Salutes 
by Armed Bodies, Miscellaneous, The Customs of the 
Service, The Form of Address, The Use of the Third 
Person, Titles, Calling, Miscellaneous 34 

Chapter IV. — Military Discipline: The Object of Mili- 
tary Discipline, How Evidenced, How Attained, Dis- 
ciplinary Training; Discipline, How Promoted 56 



Chapter I. 
MILITARY CHARACTER. 

Importance. The subject of character in gener- 
al is one whose importance scarcely demands dis- 
cussion among educated readers. It is sufficient to 
say that character is of vital importance in every 
phase of life, and that it is the hall-mark by which 
we judge individuals and their various groupings 
and determine their value and standing in society. 
The character of the individual is manifested by the 
standard of honor which he maintains in his rela- 
tions with others; that of a group, by the standard of 
honor which the members of the group set for it, in 
other words, by the accepted custom of the group. 
In setting this standard, the character of each of the 
members exercises a certain influence, but once the 
standard has been fixed upon, it is necessary that the 
individual standard of the members conform to 
that of the group. The closer the association and 
the higher the standard of the group, the greater 
becomes the necessity for individual conformity. 
For this reason, the subject of character, as evi- 
denced by standards of honor and conduct, is of 
greater importance in the military service than in 
any other walk of life. 

In civil life, the grouping of individuals is 
largely voluntary and without restraint. Men se- 
lect those with whom they wish to associate in busi- 
ness and, in the nature of things, men of similar ed- 
ucational qualifications, interests and manner of life 



2 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

thus become grouped together. When the char- 
acter of the group, or of any of its members, is not 
pleasing to any one of them, he is at liberty to with- 
draw from it at any moment he chooses. To a cer- 
tain extent, this is true even of the employee. He 
has the privilege of selecting the class of employ- 
ment he prefers and those for whom he will labor. 
If this be not always strictly true, he is at liberty 
to sever his relations with his employers whenever 
they cease to be agreeable to him. 

In the military service, the association is volun- 
tary only in the initial act of entering it, and, having 
entered it, the individual is not at liberty to withdraw 
until the period of his contract has expired. The men 
thus associated are drawn from practically every 
walk of life, with little regard to their previous so- 
cial condition, occupation or surroundings, except 
for an effort to find out whether or not they may 
have been respectable and honest. The result is 
that the army is made up of men who, in the begin- 
ning, differ widely in education, tastes and habits of 
life. These men are organized into groups, the ef- 
ficiency of which depends upon the harmonious, 
united effort — the teamwork — of all of the individ- 
uals composing the group. The nature of the work 
required of these groups demands not only a uni- 
form effort on the part of each member of the 
group, but that this effort be put forth with a con- 
stancy and reliability that will inspire mutual con- 
fidence. To a large extent this condition is brought 
about by means of military regulations, training 
and discipline but much also depends upon cultiva- 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 3 

ting in each man a standard of honor and conduct 
which conforms to the requirements of the military 
standard. 

The men who are associated in the various groups 
of the militia do not, in the beginning differ as 
widely in character as do those in the regular service. 
For each group, the recruits are selected from the 
same general circle and the character of each is some- 
what known before he is enlisted. In this way, men 
of somewhat similar characters are brought togeth- 
er in the various groups. On the other hand, they 
are not associated together to the same extent as in 
the regular forces ; the compulsion to similiar stand- 
ards of honor and conduct is not as great; the op- 
portunity for arriving at the necessary teamwork is 
less; hence the necessity for cultivating in each the 
desired character is equally as great as in the regular 
forces. 

It is therefore important to all men in the military 
service to understand clearly what constitutes the 
desirable military character. 

Definition. Military character may be defined 
as being the sum of those qualities which distinguish 
the military man from the non -military man; the 
qualities which attach to a man as the holder of a 
militarv office. 

With this definition in mind, our first concern 
should be to ascertain what qualities go to make up 
the sum of the military character, and the question 
is best answered by an analytical examination of 
the character of well-known military men who have 
been generally regarded as satisfactory types. 



4 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

In the search for such types, we must not permit 
ourselves to become confused between the satisfac- 
tory type of military character and the successful 
type of military character. The one is not depend- 
ent upon the other. The satisfactory military char- 
acter may or may not have been successful, or the 
reverse, although, other things being equal, the two 
would in general go together. 

In the history of the United States, two men 
stand out as types of the satisfactory military char- 
acter. They are General George Washington and 
General Robert E. Lee. Both were men of the 
ideal military character ; one met with military suc- 
cess, the other did not. 

In the analysis of these two characters, we find 
identical qualities. Considering the military side 
of their characters, they were both, first of all, en- 
dowed with a high sense of patriotism, or devotion 
to the causes they respectively represented. For 
their day, they were both men of highest military at- 
tainments; both were examples of unexcelled lead- 
ership ; both men of unquestionable moral and phy- 
sical courage. 

Considering the non-military side of their char- 
acters, we find them both to be men of the highest 
sense of honesty, justice and decency; both were 
dignified, god-fearing men who inspired the respect 
and admiration of all law-abiding men. President 
Jefferson said of Washington, "His integrity was 
the most pure, his justice the most inflexible, I have 
ever known. He was indeed a wise, a good, a great 
man." Benjamin Hill, speaking of General Lee, said, 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 5 

"He was a public officer without vices, a private 
citizen without wrong, a neighbor without reproach, 
a christian without hypocrisy, and a man without 
guilt." In brief both of these men were possessed 
of those qualities in which we naturally repose res- 
pect, admiration and confidence. 

From the foregoing analysis, it would appear 
that few desirable qualities were lacking in the char- 
acter of either of these men, and the conclusion 
would seem to be that the ideal type of military 
character may well include every manly quality. A 
well known diplomat, Signor des Planches, has giv- 
en his conclusion in these words, "I propose that a 
perfectly good soldier is almost necessarily a good 
citizen." To this we can only add that, in addition 
to the qualities of the ideal citizen, the soldier should 
possess certain other special qualities. For example, 
an American Jesuit is an American and something 
more — something special. Likewise, the soldier is 
a citizen and something more. He is a citizen who 
is, in addition, a specialist in the profession of arms. 

It is hardly possible to select from the whole list 
of desirable human qualities any certain few and to 
say of them that they constitute the sum which goes 
to make up the ideal character of any certain type. 
However it is possible to select certain of these qual- 
ities and to say that, without them, a certain type of 
character is not complete. Thus it is with the mili- 
tary character. In every walk of life, a man must 
be actuated by some positive motive ; he must have 
the courage to initiate and carry his undertaking to 
completion ; he must have the necessary education 



6 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

and training to go about it intelligently; and he 
must possess a personality which will lend to, rather 
than detract from, his success. The military man 
should be inspired by an active patriotism which will 
impel him, if necessary, to sacrifice his comfort and 
interests to the benefit of his country, he should pos-, 
sess the physical courage to face personal danger 
and the moral courage to assume responsibility for 
the lives of others; he nxtist have a knowledge of 
military art and training in order that his efforts 
may be directed to proper ends ; he must possess the 
qualities of a leader in order to employ the efforts 
of others to the best advantage. 

Private Character. Before proceeding to a more 
detailed discussion of the essential qualities of the 
military character, it should be understood that the 
military qualities cannot be wholly divorced from 
the non-military qualities, for while the private 
character does not necessarily effect the man's mili- 
tary ability, it does, however, effect his military ef- 
ficiency. For example: a man whose private con- 
duct is not exemplary cannot fully command the 
respect, hence the loyalty, of his men. To this ex- 
tent, he will be failing in one of the great qualities 
of the successful commander, namely, leadership, 
Even in the minor details of military duty he will 
be at a disadvantage. He cannot administer dis- 
cipline properly. If his moral sense is such that 
his own conduct is improper, he will in all probabil- 
ity overlook similar lapses in those under his com- 
mand, or though inclined not to overlook them, he 
cannot in justice punish his men for doing no more 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 7 

than he himself does. In other words, he can only 
measure the conduct of his men by the standard of 
his own conduct. 

The private character of that brilliant soldier, 
Napoleon, would seem in a way to disprove the fore- 
going statement, but it must be remembered that he 
lived in an age whose moral code was not of the 
highest. Moreover, his private character was not 
known to his followers, in fact it was not fully 
known bevond a circle of intimates until much lat- 
er. He was credited, and rightly, by the great mass 
of the people with being a blazing patriot. He met 
with overwhelming success and this success blinded 
the people to all else, with the result that they at- 
tributed to him, their leader, the highest of all qual- 
ities and motives. 

Effect on the Public. Another and an impor- 
tant consideration is to be found in the manner in 
which misconduct on the part of a military man is 
reflected in the esteem in which the military estab- 
lishment is held by the people. People esteem a 
man's profession to the extent that he, by his con- 
duct, forces them to esteem it, and he will have dif- 
ficulty in convincing them that the institution he 
represents is any better in its principles than are the 
principles that he himself practices. Moreover, 
the military man must always bear in mind that his 
profession is not one which enjoys popular esteem 
except during the unfortunate periods when it is 
called into active service. As a rule, the people 
do not appreciate the necessity of a peace-time 
military establishment and are apt to resent it as a 



8 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

more or less wasteful expense. Such being the case 
they are quick to criticize faults in the military man 
which they would overlook in the civilian, and un- 
less the military man would bring disrepute upon his 
profession, he must model his conduct most care- 
fully. 

Analysis of Military Qualities. Having decided 
upon the qualities which are essential to the 
military character, a brief discussion of each is nec- 
essary to a complete understanding of the subject. 

Patriotism. Patriotism may be defined as being 
the love or esteem one feels for his native or adopt- 
ed country and, like all other sentiments, it is best 
made known by the attitude and conduct of the one 
who cherishes it. Patriotism naturally assumes dif- 
ferent forms in different individuals. In one, it 
may be merely an admiration for the country and 
for the principles which the country represents; in 
another, it may take the form of a genuine, though 
selfish, interest in the country's welfare on account 
of the benefit conferred by citizenship in the coun- 
try; in another, it may evidence itself by an active 
interest in every phase of the country's welfare, its 
dignity, its integrity, its wealth and its security. 
When this active interest reaches the proportions 
of a devotion which impels the individual to make 
self-sacrifices for the benefit of his country, the true 
patriotism has been developed. 

We ordinarily think of patriotism as implying 
something heroic, of involving courage, fortitude 
and sacrifice of self, even of life, but few men are 
ever called upon to give such evidence of their de- 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 9 

votion to their country. However, every man may 
be called upon, in his public or his private capacity, 
to give evidence to his patriotism every day of his 
life. 

How Evidenced. In his private life, the average 
man may be frequently tempted by self interest to 
do things which are unlawful or which, if they are 
not actually unlawful, are of such a nature as to 
stamp the one who does them as a man of question- 
able character, one who indulges in sharp practices, 
one who thinks of the law only as a barrier over 
which he must not step. One such character in a 
community ordinarily harms only himself, but the 
presence of many such in a community, especially 
if they possess wealth and power, will eventually 
reflect upon the honesty and integrity of the entire 
community's reputation. The reputation of a 
country is but the average of the reputation of the 
communities which compose it. A country be- 
comes possessed of a reputation for lawlessness, dis- 
honesty and untrustworthiness only when the peo- 
ple, presumably on account of their own individ- 
ual characters, permit their representatives to give 
it such a character. 

True patriotism, therefore, demands of a citizen 
a proper conception of and obedience to the laws of 
the country and a manner of life in accordance with 
those laws. 

Again, when the average man has cast his ballot 
for a public officer, he feels that he has done his full 
duty as a citizen. Thereafter he is content to per- 
mit this representative to administer the affairs of 



10 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

his office properly or improperly as he may choose, 
or, if they be not properly administered, to feel that 
it is the duty of someone else to see that matters are 
corrected. The falseness of such an attitude may 
be illustrated by the probable action of the same man 
should he happen to be a stockholder in a business 
concern. Having assisted in electing the officers and 
directors to carry on the business of the concern, he 
exercises as much watchfulness over their work as 
is possible and, if their administration is dishonest 
or lacking in wisdom, he, with the other stockhold- 
ers, takes active steps to have the abuses corrected. 
The government of the country, the state, the coun- 
ty, the municipality, is each and every one a business 
in which each citizen is a stockholder, and the duty 
of every stockholder in the business of government 
includes a supervision of the acts of his representa- 
tives which will insure wise and honest administra- 
tion of its affairs. 

Military Obligations. In the nature of things, 
true patriotism includes active participation in main- 
taining the security of the country. At times this 
active participation may consist only in seeing that 
the proper governmental representatives take prop- 
er steps to provide for the security of the country; 
at other times, it may necessitate active military ser- 
vice on the part of every citizen. 

Under the Constitution, every male citizen of the 
United States and every male of foreign birth who 
has declared his intention of becoming a citizen, be- 
tween the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, is 
a member of either the organized or the unorganized 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 1 1 

militia of the country and as such may be called up- 
on to perform active military service if it be needed. 
This service, though rarely demanded, is an obliga- 
tion which citizenship requires in return for the bene- 
fits it confers. Militaiy service demands that a 
man be physically strong in order to undergo its 
hardships. The man who through neglect or abuse 
has permitted himself to become physically unfit to 
endure a reasonable amount of such hardships, has 
rendered himself incapable of military service. No 
matter how great his desire may be, he cannot give 
a man's service to his country, cannot repay the ob- 
ligation he owes to the country. He has become 
a noncombatant through his own misconduct and 
is a burden which other and better men must pro- 
tect. He occupies the same relative position as the 
man who, through misconduct, has reduced himself 
to paralysis and who must depend upon others to 
protect his family and fireside from indignity and 
outrage. 

Every man who is interested in a business takes 
the necessary steps to insure it against damage or 
destruction. He is not content to merely provide 
for reimbursement in the event of its destruction; 
he arranges to guard against and prevent this des- 
truction. There is no means by which a country 
may insure itself against disaster except by taking 
the necessary steps to prevent the disaster. The 
only means by which disaster to a country may be 
averted or prevented is a sound and adequate mili- 
tary policy. The citizen who is truly interested in 
his country's welfare will insist that his representa- 



12 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

tives make proper provision for its security by 
adopting and maintaining a military policy which 
will not tempt other nations to disregard the rights 
of his own country. 

Education and Training. General Von Der 
Goltz of the German Army says of education that 
"Knowledge enhances assurance, while ignorance 
is the beginning of decadence. The feeling of 
commanding the means and of having, at worst, to 
fight against misfortune, steels self-confidence. It 
tells us, 'What others can do, you can do also', and 
thus stimulates the will to rule and to lead." 

Many others have testified to the necessity for 
military education and training in no uncertain 
terms. Napoleon in his characteristic way express- 
es himself on the subject in the following question, 
"When ignorance causes ten men to be killed where 
but two should have been lost, is it not responsible 
for the blood of the other eight?" 

As a result of the war of the Revolution, Wash- 
ington, Knox, Hamilton and many others labored 
incessantly for the establishment of systematic 
training and education of military men. The ne- 
cessity for this has been reiterated and emphasized 
by every war in which this country has engaged and 
it is the problem which absorbs the attention and 
thought of every military student in this country 
today. 

The Extent. Military education and training is 
a most comprehensive expression. The extent to 
which both can be carried is almost unlimited, ex- 
cept by the time that may be devoted to them. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 13 

A simple list of the subjects which the profession- 
al soldier must master before he may consider him- 
self well grounded in his profession is staggering 
to the beginner. The field of military training is 
as boundless as that of any other art. The time in 
which to prepare himself for his many duties is all 
too short even for the man who makes a profession 
of arms ; for him who may undertake it only as an 
incident to his other occupation, it seems impos- 
sible of accomplishment. However, for such there 
is a degree of education and training which enables 
them to perform subordinate duty in an efficient 
manner and which is capable of being gained with- 
out the sacrifice of time and effort which every man 
owes to his personal interests. 

How Attained. The Infantry Drill Regula- 
tions indicates a degree of education and training 
which may be considered as satisfactory for the sol- 
dier of each grade. 

It states that the instruction and training of of- 
ficers and non-commissioned officers should be thor- 
ough in the duties of their respective grades and in 
those of the next higher grades. Following this 
principle, the acquisition of military education and 
training is a gradual process, and, timed by the var- 
ious steps in promotion, is capable of being absorbed 
at the expense of only a reasonable amount of time 
and effort. Furthermore, it possesses an actual ad- 
vantage to the man who must obtain his education 
and training in this manner, for thorough training in 
each grade is the likeliest stepping stone to the next 



14 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

higher grade and makes the mastery of that higher 
grade, when attained, less difficult. 

The principle is not peculiar to military life 
but it is fundamental and applies to the profession 
of arms with perhaps greater force than to most 
other professions. It is the principle upon which 
every great soldier has had to build his career and to 
rise to distinction. It is the principle which has 
made it possible for countless volunteers, without 
preliminary education or training, to serve well and 
with honor both to their country and to themselves. 

Outlines of what this education and training in- 
volves for each grade are published from time to 
time by the various headquarters responsible for the 
instruction of troops. The details are to be found 
in the various manuals provided and the training 
is arranged and conducted by responsible officers 
in each group. Under this system, the student has 
only to lend his earnest effort to follow the lines of 
study pointed out to him and to master them as 
thoroughly as his time and ability will permit, be- 
ing content to advance slowly and steadily, regard- 
ing promotion as a responsibility which he may ac- 
cept only when he has thoroughly qualified him- 
self to discharge it. 

Leadership. The infantry Drill Regulations 
defines leadership as consisting of the application 
of sound tactical principles to concrete cases on the 
battle-field. It further enumerates the qualities of 
the successful leader as being self-reliance initia- 
tive, aggressiveness and a proper conception of 
teamwork. Military education and training are, 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 15 

of course included in the ability to apply sound tac- 
tical principles. 

The commander who possesses these qualities will 
be well qualified to direct the military efforts of 
men and will, in all probability, meet with success. 
Whether he will be able to inspire the confidence of 
his men and win their co-operation or teamwork is 
a debatable question. It is doubtful if the display 
of these qualites alone would have held the bare- 
footed, half -starved, Continental soldiers in their 
freezing huts at Valley Forge or would have in- 
spired the tattered veterans of Lee's army to follow 
him to the last bitter hour of surrender. True, de- 
votion to the cause for which they fought played its 
part in the case of both armies, but leadership was 
largely responsible for the loyalty with which those 
men clung to their beloved chiefs, and it is in the 
non-military side of those leaders' characters that 
we find the qualities that inspired that loyalty and 
devotion. 

In this view of the matter, we must remember that 
we are considering leadership as applied to all 
grades. It is highly probable that a commander of 
a large force, removed as he necessarily is from im- 
mediate contact with his men, might never be called 
upon to display qualities other than those enumerated 
in the Drill Regulations, though in this connection 
it is interesting to read what Lord Woolsey says 
of the siege of Sebastopol. He says, "During the 
siege, I verily believe that a large proportion of our 
men did not know the name of the general officer 
commanding. They seldom saw him; he did not 



16 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

live amongst them. If he had any feeling in com- 
mon with them, they did not know it." 

The leader, no matter how brilliant may be his 
plans, may reasonably anticipate success only when 
he may rely upon his subordinates to carry out his 
plans in the same spirit in which he has conceived 
them. Battle is the supreme test of courage and 
physical endurance. It demands of each man the 
utmost xftental and physical effort. Without this, 
the most brilliant plan is foredoomed to failure. 
Men may be driven into battle, but they must be in- 
spired to do their best, and this inspiration must be 
largely drawn from their leaders. Men must be led 
in campaign and battle, if not actually, then in 
spirit, and the man who would lead successfully 
must possess qualities that will inspire men to follow 
him even in the face of temptation to turn back. 

Briefly, some of these qualities may be enumerat- 
ed as follows : 

Will Power. The man who desires to have his 
opinion respected by his fellow men must advance 
them with determination and support theml logi- 
cally and tenaciously to the point where they im- 
press themselves on others as being facts. The 
great mass of people likes to be impressed and those 
who have the ability to impress the people are look- 
ed up to as leaders. Under a man of strong will, 
the average man feels secure and this fancied se- 
curity, in turn, gives rise to a feeling of courage and 
ability. 

Willingness to Assume Responsibility. The 
leader who says to his men, "Follow me. Do as I 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 17 

tell you. I will assume the responsibility," will nev- 
er lack for capable and willing followers. The man 
who has little physical fear of danger is often a 
moral coward in the face of responsibility and 
though it is always understood in the military ser- 
vice that the leader is responsible, it is assuring to 
the follower to know that this responsibility will 
not be shirked. The man who has confidence in 
himself will have little difficulty in commanding the 
confidence in others. 

Knowledge of Human Nature. Every leader 
must be a student of human nature. No man can 
lead men who does not understand how to appeal 
to them ; no man can know how to appeal to men un- 
til he knows them, their characteristics, motives, am- 
bitions and limitations. Caesar showed himself to 
be a student of human nature and of his own men 
in particular when he told his wavering army that 
they might stay behind but that he and the Tenth 
Legion would go forth to meet the enemy. In his 
concluding sentence of the order for the march to 
the sea, General Sherman displayed his knowledge 
of the manner in which to appeal to his men. He 
said, "He (General Sherman) hopes to lead you 
to achievements equal in importance to those of the 
past." 

Courage. Courage is defined as being that qual- 
ity of mind which enables one to encounter danger 
and difficulty with firmness and without fear or de- 
pression. 

This definition, being a broad one, includes those 
qualities which we know separately as physical and 



18 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

as moral courage, and for this reason is well suited 
as a definition of the particular courage required of 
the military man. 

Physical Courage. We ordinarily understand by 
physical courage, a lack of fear of bodily injury. 
This lack may be total or only partial, and it may 
take almost as many forms as there are types of 
men. One man may unhesitatingly enter a brawl 
in which he risks serious physical injury, yet may 
shrink from the mere idea of having a tooth drawn. 
Another may feel little fear in facing a rifle or a 
revolver, yet may be an arrant coward when threat- 
ened with a knife. Many men who are otherwise 
unaffected by scenes of violence, become faint at 
the sight of blood. 

In the soldier, we ordinarily think of courage as 
being a kind of recklessness which enables him to 
face danger, even death, without fear or shrinking. 
It may be definitely stated that few normal men pos- 
sess such courage. Marshal Ney said, "The one 
who says he never knew fear is a compound liar." 
The number of men who are without definite sensa- 
tions of fear would certainly fall far short of the 
military demands of even the smallest nation. How- 
ever, fear does not effect all alike; all do not give 
like evidence of the fear they may feel. Some con- 
trol it naturally, as they control all of their other 
emotions; some have trained themselves to control 
this particular emotion. It is said of Turenne that 
on going into battle he used to address himself as 
follows, "You tremble, body; well, j^ou would trem- 
ble more if you knew where I am going to take 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 19 

you." Control gained as the result of such training 
is, in general, more reliable than the natural control, 
since the man who thus schooled himself enters dan- 
ger fully alive to its consequences and hence is less 
likely to panic than the man who may have this re- 
alization suddenly thrust upon him. 

Courage which is the result of training and dis- 
cipline is the kind upon which the control of men 
in battle is based. With such courage, the man 
when facing danger obeys the voice of command 
rather than the dictates of his own will. 

Training and discipline enter into the control of 
the soldier in still another form. During his train- 
ing, he is associated with other soldiers among whom 
he forms acquaintances and friendships. He nat- 
urally desires the good opinion of these friends and 
acquaintances. He knows that any display of fear 
on his part will forfeit their good opinion, even 
though his friends may be suffering from the same 
fear, and in the end his pride smothers his fear. 
In this connection, an emiment German soldier has 
said, "The fear of being despised as a coward by 
his comrades is in the end greater than his fear 
of death." 

It would seem, therefore, that the crime of cow- 
ardice does not consist in being afraid but in giving 
away to this fear. 

Moral Courage. The term moral courage has 
come to be understood as meaning that quality of 
mind which impels one to the performance of a duty 
in spite of the lack of desire or of the fear of do- 
ing it. 



20 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

We have seen that every soldier is forced through 
discipline and pride to an outward display of cour- 
age, and for the enlisted man and the subordinate 
officer, this courage will be sufficient if it carries him 
through the proper performance of the duty with 
which he is charged. His responsibility ends with 
proper obedience to orders. However, the leader 
must possess courage in addition to that which im- 
pels him to mere obedience. He must have the 
courage of responsibility, moral courage, the cour- 
age of his convictions which will enable him to ini- 
tiate a plan when he knows that its execution will 
bring danger to himself and to his men; he must 
have the courage to face great sacrifices, to order 
them and to forget them when they have been made 
in accordance with the demands of a military situ- 
ation; he must have the courage to face disaster 
without depression, to meet it boldly and with the 
determination to convert it to his advantage. 

Not every man is capable of the courage of the 
leader. General Von Der Goltz says, "Courage 
and love of responsibility are necessary to a general 
but are rare gifts .... Courage of responsibility is 
born of a certain nobility of mind which must be in- 
herent in the general, and which ennobles his whole 
nature. It consists of a sense of superiority which 
raises above the common herd, without making one 
presumptous, and which may be innate or acquired 
in the school of life." 

In this connection, it may not be out of place to 
point a warning. The mere command of men in 
time of peace involves little more than a knowledge 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 21 

of certain set forms. In war, it involves a tremen- 
dous responsibility. The man who voluntarily as- 
sumes the command of men at such a tirrte, takes up- 
on himself the responsibility for their proper em- 
ployment. To him, each man under his command 
confides his life and, in return, is entitled to have 
his life protected by every safeguard which knowl- 
edge and ability can afford him. When men are 
sacrificed in proper employment, it is a matter of 
military necessity; when they are sacrificed need- 
lessly or through ignorance, it is a crime little short 
of murder, and the man who accepts the responsi- 
bility of commanding men in war without the 
knowledge or ability to lead them properly is a ten- 
tative murderer who requires only the fruits of bat- 
tle to consummate his crime. 

Military Character, How Acquired. In the fore- 
going discussion, we have considered somewhat of 
the qualities which go to make up the sum of the 
military character and the question which next pre- 
sents itself is, — How may these qualities be acquired 
and cultivated? The answer is not capable of being 
written in mere formulae. 

The development of military character is a prob- 
lem which each individual must solve according to 
the circumstances of his own life. Many of the de- 
sirable qualities are innate in every normal man; 
many result from proper upbringing ; some must be 
absorbed from the school of life. The purely pro- 
fessional qualities are, in general only to be acquired 
from military association and activity. The only 
textbooks are to be found in the lives and exper- 



22 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

iences of those who have been recognized as great 
soldiers and great citizens. 

Among officers, military character is largely de- 
veloped by the circumstances under which they en- 
ter the service. The character of the West Pointer 
is molded in great part while he is a cadet under the 
discipline and instruction of the Academy and in 
that atmosphere of tradition which is more potent 
even than regulations. The character of the officer 
who rises from the ranks takes its form in the prac- 
tical school of military life, with the example of 
trained and disciplined soldiers and educated officers 
for a text and the restrictions of discipline to guide 
and direct him. The character of the officer ap- 
pointed from civil life is the product of his earnest- 
ness, his ability to observe and to adapt himself to 
his surroundings and to absorb the unfamiliar at- 
mosphere. Unfortunately he lacks much of the re- 
straining influence with which officers of the other 
two classes are surrounded during the formative 
period of their characters, and this lack must be sup- 
plemented by his own sense of the fitness of things 
and by his discretion in the selection of models after 
which to fashion his own character. In determining 
whom to admire, whom to select as a model, he must 
search military biography for a standard and then 
study his associates to see which of their qualities he 
must acquire in order to reach the desired standard. 

The experience of the militia officer is akin to that 
of the regular officer of the last two classes. In gen- 
eral, he serves his apprenticeship in the ranks and 
thus has the opportunity of observing his officers 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 23 

from the viewpoint of the enlisted man and under 
conditions which make their example more impres- 
sive to him. At the same time, the restraints of dis- 
cipline are less binding and social conditions permit 
him to come in contact with his officers when not in 
military employment. He thus enjoys a double 
viewpoint from which to observe and to select that 
which he deems desirable in his character as an 
officer. 

Practically, the cultivation of military character 
must begin with an intelligent conception of its 
meaning, its necessity and its value, and be followed 
by an adaptation of its requirements to the circum- 
stances of one's daily life. It involves the cultiva- 
tion of the military habit of thought and action, the 
subjection of self to the restraints of an orderly, 
systematic life, and to a direct and unselfish hon- 
esty; it involves the punctilious practice of military 
courtesy in official circles and of dignified deport- 
ment in unofficial circles ; it involves looking at life 
from a simple, straightforward, military viewpoint. 

A Motto. A formula is always of assistance in 
the solution of any problem. In the problem of ac- 
quiring and cultivating the military character, this 
formula takes the form of a motto or device upon 
whose skeleton we may hang the various qualities 
we have selected as being desirable. 

It is at once a reminder of the goal toward which 
we struggle and a signpost to point the way toward 
that goal. It is the slogan by which we proclaim to 
the world the character and the purpose of our 
effort. 



24} Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

In the search for such a motto, I find none bet- 
ter suited to the code of any man than that borne 
upon the Arms of the United States Military Acad- 
emy. It is, 

Duty, Honor, Country. 

Duty toward self, f ellowman and country. 

Honor as an individual and as a citizen of the 
state. 

Loyalty and devotion to the country, in every 
sense that the words may imply. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 25 

Chapter II. 
MILITARY HABIT AND DEPORTMENT. 

Definition. Habit is defined as being the ordi- 
nary course of conduct of the individual, a kind of 
second nature, an involuntary tendency to do certain 
things which is acquired by their frequent repeti- 
tion. 

Habit is the natural product of the character and 
life of the individual and, to a certain extent dis- 
tinguishes him as belonging to a certain class or pro- 
fession. The habit of the clergyman, or the school 
teacher is distinctive of the man's daily life, and we 
speak of them as being of clerical or of scholarly 
habit. 

Military habit is nothing more than the ordinary 
course of conduct of the soldier, a kind of second 
nature which causes him to involuntarily do certain 
things after a military fashion. For example: the 
salute between military men is a courtesy which be- 
comes through its frequent exchange an involun- 
tary habit in which the soldier indulges without 
thought or consciousness of so doing. In other 
words, the military habit is the product and outward 
evidence of the military character and life; as a 
man begins to take on military character and to live 
a military life, he unconsciously begins to conduct 
himself after a fashion in accordance with that char- 
acter and life and we refer to that fashion of con- 
duct as the military habit. 



26 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

How Evidenced. The question of what consti- 
tutes the military habit is best answered by enumer- 
ating some of the more prominent ways in which 
it is generally manifested. 

Bearing. To outward appearance, the most 
prominent and distinguishing mark of the soldier is 
in his bearing and carriage. The upright bearing, 
the confident, elastic stride, the uplifted chin, the 
steady, unfaltering eye have come to be recognized 
the world over as indicating the man of military 
training and habit. This bearing and carriage is 
primarily a measure of physical development and 
training, designed to prepare the soldier for the 
work of his profession by giving him perfect and 
easy control of the members and muscles of his 
body; its constant practice when on military duty 
in time develops it into a habit from which the 
trained soldier is rarely ever able to divorce him- 
self. 

Incidentally, it may be remarked that the mili- 
tary bearing and carriage is a perfect one from 
the physical standpoint and is well worth being 
cultivated by any man, be he soldier or civilian. 

Personal Appearance. Pride in one's personal 
appearance is a pardonable fault; indeed, it is a 
duty which every man owes to himself to present 
a neat appearance, for people instinctively form 
much of their estimate of a man's character from his 
personal appearance. They judge, and rightly, that 
the man who is careless or indifferent to outward 
appearance is apt to be careless and indifferent in 
his other habits of life. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 27 

Someone has said that a man is as much of a sol- 
dier as his uniform makes him, meaning that the 
more attractive the uniform, the more pride the man 
will take in wearing it. On the other hand, it may 
be said that the more of a soldier a man is, the more 
pride he will take in his uniform and the more care 
he will devote to keeping it neat and smart. Aside 
from the favorable impression which smart out- 
ward appearance produces, it may be taken as an 
indication of one's general disposition toward clean- 
liness and neatness, and personal cleanliness should 
be one of the cardinal virtues of the soldier. 

The Manual for Privates of Infantry of the Or- 
ganized Militia includes the following rules which 
are worth bearing always in mind : 

Wear the exact uniform prescribed by your com- 
manding officer, whether you are on duty or off 
duty. 

Never wear a mixed uniform, as, for intance, a 
part of the olive drab with either the khaki or the 
blue uniform. 

Never wear any part of the uniform with civil- 
ian clothes. 

Keep the uniform clean and neat and in good re- 
pair. 

Grease spots and dust and dirt should be re- 
moved as soon as possible. 

Rips and tears should be promptly mended. 

Missing buttons and collar and cap ornaments 
should be promptly replaced. 

There is but one correct and soldierly way to 



28 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

wear the cap. Never wear it on the back or the 
side of the head. 

The campaign hat should be worn in the regula- 
tion shape. Do not cover it with pen or pencil 
marks. 

Never appear outside of your room or tent with 
your blouse unbuttoned or collar unhooked. 

When blouses are not worn, suspenders should 
never be exposed to view. 

Never appear in breeches without leggings. 

Leather leggings should be kept polished. Can- 
vas leggings should be scrubbed when dirty. 

Black shoes should be kept shined. Russet leath- 
er shoes should be kept polished. 

The overcoat when worn should be buttoned 
throughout and the collar hooked. 

To these might well be added the following : 

Keep the hair close cropped and neatly brushed. 
Shave as often as necessary to keep a clean face. 

In the field, keep the shirt collar buttoned to the 
throat. Do not unbutton and roll up the sleeves. 

Avoid getting clothing unnecessarily soiled in 
the field. Endeavor to keep as neat and smart as is 
possible. 

Do not wear neckties with the olive drab shirt in 
the field, or tie a handkerchief around the neck, un- 
less it be an authorized neckerchief issued by the 
proper authorities. 

Do not wear a watch chain or fob conspicuously 
displayed. Do not wear pins or badges of any sort 
except those issued for use. 

Military Courtesy. The visible habit which, next 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 29 

to bearing, most distinguishes the trained soldier is 
his practice of the forms of military courtesy. Mili- 
tary courtesy is nothing more than the code of pre- 
scribed and adopted rites of the profession of arms ; 
the forms of military courtesy correspond to those 
which govern polite intercourse in civil life, and 
strict observance of these forms is an unfailing indi- 
cation of military training and discipline just as 
adherence to the conventions of society is an indi- 
cation of good breeding and form. 

It must be remarked, however, that mere obser- 
vance of the prescribed forms of military courtesy 
indicates but little. The manner in which they are 
observed is the distinguishing mark of the true sol- 
dier. Pompousness or servility indicates a failure 
to grasp the spirit of military courtesy ; carelessness 
or indifference indicates a lack of training and dis- 
cipline; ease and dignity indicate proper training 
and a proper conception of courtesy and discipline. 

Discipline. A proper observance of the res- 
traints of discipline is inseparable from the mili- 
tary habit, and, again, it is the manner in which the 
requirements of discipline are observed that distin- 
guishes the trained soldier. Outward compliance 
with the requirements of discipline, coupled with in- 
ward rebellion against them, indicates but little 
more than a state of cowardly subjection; it is but 
little better than the attitude of the would-be crim- 
inal who refrains from breaking the law only for 
fear of the consequences of so doing. Careless and 
indifferent compliance indicates a lack of apprecia- 
tion of the real purpose and value of discipline. 



SO Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

There is nothing unmanly or undignified in ad- 
hering strictly to the requirements of discipline. 
In so doing, the soldier is merely contributing his 
support to the fundamental principle upon which 
his profession is based; he is demonstrating the 
measure of his respect for the dignity of his pro- 
fession and is proclaiming that he has grasped the 
genuine spirit of the man at arms. 

Order and System. The nature of military em- 
ployment demands that every detail of its business 
be conducted without confusion or irregularity. 
In order that this may be so it is necessary that its 
administration be at all times orderly and system- 
atic. Without order and system, there must in- 
evitably result confusion and uncertainty, and with 
such conditions, control and discipline are impos- 
sible. Naturally an orderly and systematic ad- 
ministration cannot be expected of a man who has 
not trained himself to orderly and systematic hab- 
its of conduct and work, and these habits should 
apply to both the official and the unofficial life of 
the soldier, for the man whose private life is not reg- 
ulated by some intelligent system will have diffi- 
culty in adjusting himself to an orderly and system- 
atic routine in official life. 

Devotion to Duty. The proper and faithful 
performance of duty is the standard by which the 
value and efficiency of the soldier is measured, and 
the measure of his efficiency and value is not deter- 
mined by the prominence of the duty which he per- 
forms. The sum of military employment is made 
up of a multitude of details, many of which may 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 31 

appear insignificant, but all of which are of equal 
importance. Hohenlohe, in his letters on Infan- 
try, says of the importance of the minor details, 
"You may perhaps laugh at such details. But the 
grandest and most beautiful building is composed 
of comparatively small and unimposing stones and 
falls altogether to the ground, if these little stones 
are not worked and joined with the proper care." 

The private soldier who gives his best and most 
intelligent effort to the police of the grounds 
about the company kitchen is demonstrating his ef- 
ficiency and value just as fully as the general who 
plans a successful campaign. 

The Habit of Loyalty. The Manual of Privates 
of Infantry of the Organized Militia sums up the 
subject of loyalty in the following words: 

"But even with implicit obedience you may yet 
fail to measure up to that high standard of duty 
which is at once the pride and glory of every true 
soldier. Not until you carry out the desires and 
wishes of your superiors in a hearty, willing and 
cheerful manner are you meeting all the require- 
ments of your profession. For an order is but the 
will of your superior, however it may be expressed. 
Loyalty means that you are for your organization 
and its officers and non-commissioned officers — not 
against them; that you always extend your earnest 
and most hearty support to those in authority. No 
soldier is a loyal soldier who is a knocker, or a grum- 
bler or a shirker. Just one man of this class in 
a company breeds discontent and dissatisfaction 
among the others. You should, therefore, not only 



32 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

guard against doing such things yourself, but you 
should discourage such actions among any of your 
comrades." 

The Habit of Being Patriotic. Above all things, 
the soldier should be a model of loyalty and devo- 
tion to his country. He is a guardian not only of 
its safety but of its honor and dignity. His atti- 
tude and conduct should be such as to furnish ex- 
ample to all others. 

His motives should be beyond question. His con- 
duct should be such as to indicate the true state of 
his feelings, and his devotion to his country should 
be made known by his attitude of respect toward its 
visible symbols. 

The national flag is the symbol of the power and 
dignity of the country and as such should be the sub- 
ject of the most profound respect on the part of 
every citizen. 

The Army Regulations require that all bodies of 
soldiers, all officers and enlisted men salute the nat- 
ional and regimental flags in a proper and respect- 
ful manner and remembering that it is the symbol 
for which he has pledged himself to fight, it should 
be the pride of every soldier to pay this respect in 
a manner that will serve as an example to all others. 

The duly elected officers of the Government are 
the representatives of the dignity and power of the 
country. Respect paid to them is respect paid to 
the country. To make light of them or to lower 
them in the respect of others is to lower the dignity 
of the country. 

As the representatives of the people, they cannot 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline S3 

reasonably expect to be removed from proper criti- 
cism when their conduct or their acts lay them open 
to such criticism, but the criticism should be temper- 
ate and respectful. Intemperate accusations, vul- 
gar criticism, cartooning and lampooning of public 
officials reflects more upon the country than it does 
on them. 

Such apparently was the opinion of those who 
framed the laws of this country in the days when the 
memories of their sacrifices for the country were 
still fresh in their minds. The 19th Article of War 
prescribes that: "Any officer who uses contempt- 
uous or disrespectful words against the President, 
the Vice-president, the Congress of the United 
States, or chief magistrate or the legislature of any 
of the United States in which he is quartered, shall 
be dismissed from the service, or otherwise punished 
as a court-martial may direct. Any soldier who so 
offends shall be punished as a court-martial may 
direct." 

Nor is outward respect for the symbols of the 
country, its representatives and its institutions suf- 
ficient to indicate true loyalty to the country. True 
loyalty seeks to uphold and protect the reputation 
of the country. The oath which the Boy Scouts of 
France take might well serve as a model for the 
citizen of any and all countries. These boys pledge 
themselves, "Never to speak ill of their country be- 
fore strangers. To discuss discreetly what is bad 
in public life; to be silent about what is middling, 
and to extol what is good." 



34 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 



Chapter III. 
MILITARY COURTESY. 

Definition. Military courtesy may be briefly de- 
fined as being the attitude of civility and respect 
which military men at all times maintain toward 
each other. Its true nature is best understood 
through a knowledge of the manner in which it is 
practiced among military men. 

In order to understand the various forms by 
which it is expressed, it should be understood that 
military courtesy is based on the principle of equal- 
ity among military men. In point of merit, and 
honor, one soldier is the equal of any other soldier, 
whatever may be their respective rank or grade. 
Each gives his service to his country; each offers the 
same sacrifice — his life — as an earnest of his sin- 
cerity, they differ from each other only in the mat- 
ter of rank and grade and consequent duties and 
responsibilities, and these are conditions which are 
regulated by circumstances and expediency. 

In one of the Articles of Faith of the Japanese 
soldier, the principle is stated in the following 
words: "All soldiers must remember that they are 
associated in a great and honorable service, and that 
to serve worthily in the station in which each is 
placed is an honor in which the private participates 
as fully as the general." 

The Spirit of Military Courtesy. The practice 
of military courtesy is greatly simplified by a 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 35 

correct grasp of the spirit in which it should be 
practiced, and, in turn, an understanding of the 
spirit of military courtesy is facilitated by bearing 
in mind that it is the attitude maintained among 
men who are, each according to his station, of equal 
importance in a great calling. 

With this in mind, it is obvious that ease and dig- 
nity should characterize the exchange of all mili- 
tary courtesies, and that exaggerated forms, such 
as prompousness or servility, are objectionable and 
entirely out of place among soldiers of the proper 
type. 

Pompousness is often mistaken by the uninitiated 
as an index of a high standard of military form, 
whereas, it is in truth only a cheap imitation, a cloak 
behind which to hide ignorance of true courtesy. 
Associated with pompousness are brusqueness and 
rudeness, both of which serve to indicate that the 
soldier who is guilty of either adopts this manner 
because he realizes his own deficiences and seeks 
in this way to cover them from those under him. 

There may have been a time when rough treat- 
ment of subordinates was necessary to the preser- 
ervation of discipline, but that time is happily past. 
General Von Der Goltz, commenting on this sub- 
ject, says, "Official brusqueness, too, is less justi- 
fiable now, and will avail less than formerly. The 
more friendly the official relations, the greater the 
prospect of everything working smoothly." 

Origin. Military courtesy is as old as the profes- 
sion of arms. In the beginning, the rank and file 
of fighting men were generally of one of two classes, 



36 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

namely, those who owed allegiance to some hered- 
itary leader or chieftain, or those who voluntarily 
assumed such allegiance in return for a price, gen- 
erally the patronage and protection of the leader. 
It was no more than natural that such men should 
pay a certain respect and deference to their leaders. 
Moreover, these leaders were very generally men 
whose rank and personal prowess was such as to win 
and hold the admiration and respect of their fol- 
lowers. These hereditary leaders were followed by 
another class whose members rose to leadership by 
virtue of their ability, and respect flowed to them 
as the natural result of their success. Certain forms 
grew out of the relations of these leaders and their 
fighting men and these forms, modified to meet the 
requirements of modern conditions, have been hand- 
ed down to us to form the basis of the military court- 
esy of the present day. 

With each advance in civilization, the conditions 
of military service have changed. Organization 
has been introduced and, in turn, has introduced 
graded rank and responsibility. In the United 
States Army and in the Organized Militia, men 
serve voluntarily; they serve the country; the lead- 
er is merely the representative of that country. The 
deference formerly paid to the leader as an individ- 
ual is now paid to the individual by virtue of the 
rank he holds in the organization, in other words, 
to the position, not to the man. 

Importance. Courtesy in any man is generally 
taken as an indication of his breeding. Its posses- 
sion indicates good breeding; its absence, a lack of 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 37 

breeding or the possession of an undesirable dispo- 
sition. It is an essential element in all intercourse 
between polite people. On account of its intimate 
association with discipline, it is of especial impor- 
tance in the military service. 

Armies are composed of groups of various siz- 
es, and the members of each group are closely as- 
sociated with each other in every detail of official 
and private life. Every phase of their employment 
is in the nature of teamwork which requires united 
and harmonious action on the part of all. Added 
to this there must be a spirit of mutual confidence 
and helpfulness among the members of each group 
and among the groups themselves. This close and 
intimate relation is capable of being the source of as 
much difference of opinion and irritation as is to 
be encountered in the association of men for any 
other purpose. In the nature of things, disagree- 
ments are inevitable and, to meet the necessities of 
discipline, some one must submit to some other. 
The one who shoulders the greater responsibility, 
hence is clothed with the higher rank, is entitled by 
virtue of this greater responsibility, to exercise the 
balance of opinion and, if necessary, to enforce it 
with the power with which he is endowed. By the 
exercise of proper military courtesy, the submission 
of the one to the other may be accomplished with- 
out harshness on the part of the one or humiliation 
on the part of the other. Military courtesy is thus 
not only the pleasant manner of ordinary associa- 
tion, but is also the official balm with which the sting 
of discipline is removed. 



38 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

Source. Generally speaking, the forms of mili- 
tary courtesy are derived from one of two sources, 
namely, the Regulations and the Customs of the 
Service. 

By Regulations is meant, all the the published 
rules and orders for the government of the military 
forces. These are included in the Army Regula- 
tions, the drill regulations of the various arms of 
the service, and other manuals and orders publish- 
ed by authority of the War Department. As a 
rule, the forms of military courtesy appropriate to 
official occasions and intercourse are prescribed in 
one or the other of the official publications. 

By Customs of the Service is meant that code of 
unwritten rules and regulations which has grown up 
in the service and which, having been recognized as 
being proper and appropriate, has been given offi- 
cial sanction. It is the general source of those 
forms of military courtesy applicable to social and 
private intercourse in the military service, although 
not limited to unofficial occasions. 

Regulations. The subject of military courtesy 
is covered in the Army Regulations by two general 
paragraphs in which it is stated that: 

"Courtesy among military men is indispensable 
to discipline; respect to superiors will not be con- 
fined to obedience on duty, but will be extended on 
all occasions." 

"In official correspondence between officers, or be- 
tween officers and officials of the other branches of 
the public service, and especially in matters involv- 
ing questions of jurisdiction, conflict of authority or 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 39 

disputes, Officers of the Army are reminded that 
their correspondence should be courteous in tone 
and free from any expression partaking of a per- 
sonal nature or calculated to give offense." 

In elaboration of these two paragraphs, the 
Army Regulations prescribes certain forms by 
means of which honors and courtesies are paid and 
exchanged, and the occasions upon which they are 
to be paid or exchanged. The drill regulations of 
the various arms prescribe in detail the manner in 
which they are paid or exchanged. 

Before considering these details however some ex- 
planation of the nature of the forms themselves is 
of value in understanding the spirit in which they 
are to be paid and exchanged. 

The Position of Attention. In all of the regula- 
tions governing the exchange of courtesies, it will 
be observed that the officer or soldier, when not in 
motion, always assumes the position of the soldier, 
or attention, when in the presence of a senior or 
when about to salute. It is only proper that the 
presence of a senior should be recognized by some 
mark of respect. The act of rising is the custom- 
ary manner in which any man greets the appearance 
of any one to whom he desires to show respect. The 
position of attention is the proper one for the sol- 
dier when standing, and for that reason is the posi- 
tion prescribed for him when he is exchanging 
courtesies. It may be remarked also that the 
standing position is one of privilege. It was for- 
merly a very general custom to acknowledge the 
presence of a superior or of royalty by kneeling, 



40 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

only those who were of high rank or otherwise priv- 
iliged being permitted to stand. 

The Removal of the Hat. It will also be ob- 
served that when indoors and unarmed, the officer or 
soldier removes the hat when in the presence of a 
senior. The removal of the hat is the survival of a 
custom which began in the days of chivalry. The 
helmet worn by armoured knights was a clumsy and 
burdensome affair and was not worn unnecessarily. 
When among friends, the wearer would take ad- 
vantage of the occasion to remove it. In time, the 
removal of the helmet was taken as an indication 
that the wearer felt himself to be among friends 
and, consequently, not in need of the protection of 
his helmet. Gradually the custom became so well 
recognized that it was taken as an indication of un- 
friendliness or of disrespect if the helmet was not 
removed in the presence of friends or acquaintan- 
ces. The present custom of removing the hat is the 
modern form of the same courtesy. 

In addition, it should be remarked that the hat 
should not ordinarily be worn when indoors, and its 
removal merely places the soldier in proper indoor 
costume. 

When indoors and under arms, the soldier does 
not remove the hat, presumably following the cus- 
tom referred to above, namely, that the fighting 
man only removed his head covering when among 
friends and in no danger, but that when under arms, 
he was presumably prepared for duty and when 
so prepared should keep his head covering on. 

The Salute. This form of courtesy is one whose 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 41 

significance is very generally misunderstood. In 
this country especially, many people are inclined to 
regard it as an act of subservience, unbecoming 
to one of a free people. The history of the salute 
is sufficient to show the error of this idea, for, his- 
torically, the salute with the hand originated as an 
exchange of courtesy among equals. In the days 
of chivalry, knights on meeting were in the habit 
of indicating their intentions by their actions. If 
unfriendly, upon sighting each other, they prepared 
for battle; if friendly, they raised the right, or 
fighting hand, to show that it was empty of wea- 
pons, thus signifying the friendliness or peaceful- 
ness of their intentions. The act was gradually 
adopted as a salutation among friends and today it 
is an invariable custom among gentlemen to greet 
acquaintances by touching the hat. 

In his Noncommissioned Officers' Manual, Cap- 
tain Moss sums up the significance of the salute in 
the following expressive manner: 

"The salute on the part of the subordinate is not 
intended in any way as an act of degradation or a 
mark of inferiority, but is simply a military court- 
esy that is as binding on the officer as it is on the 
private, and just as the enlisted man is required to 
salute first, so is the officer required to salute his 
superiors first. It is the bond uniting all in a com- 
mon profession, marking the fact that above them 
there is an authority that both recognize and obey— 
Country . . The officer and the private belong to a 
brotherhood whose regalia is the uniform of the 
American soldier, and thev are known to each other 



42 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

and to all men, by an honored sign and symbol of 
knighthood that has come down to us from the 
ages — The Military Salute. 

This view of the nature of the salute is corrobor- 
ated in the Army Regulations by the paragraphs 
in which it is prescribed that: 

"Officers will at all times acknowledge the court- 
esies of enlisted men by returning salutes given, in 
the manner prescribed in drill regulations. When 
several officers in company are saluted, all who en- 
listed to the salute return it." 

The Infantry Drill Regulations further em- 
phasizes it by prescribing that: 

"Officers will acknowledge salutes smartly and 
promptly." 

It is thus apparent that the salute is officially re- 
garded as a courtesy equally obligatory upon all sol- 
diers, whatever may be their grade. 

General Requirements in Saluting. The Infan- 
try Drill Regulations defines saluting distance as 
being the distance wdthin which recognition is easy; 
in general, about thirty paces. It then adds: 

"In approaching or passing each other, within 
saluting distance, individuals salute when at about 
six paces. If they do not approach each other that 
closely, the salute is exchanged at the point of near- 
est approach." 

These provisions are intended merely as a guide 
for the uninitiated and as a check on the conduct of 
those who, through lack of proper discipline, or 
through carelessness or indifference, may be inclined 
to avoid proper observance of military courtesy. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 43 

The question of whether or not to salute should nev- 
er enter the mind of the soldier who has grasped 
ed the proper spirit of military courtesy. What- 
ever may be the distance separating him from the 
senior, whatever the conditions under which they 
may meet — whether in or out of doors, in the gar- 
rison, or mingling with civilians in public places — 
if the circumstances be those under which he would 
greet a friend or acquaintance, the trained soldier 
will salute his senior. 

The Army Regulations provide that : 
"All officers salute on meeting and in making and 
receiving official reports. Military courtesy re- 
quires the junior to salute first. . . Officers will at all 
times acknowledge the courtesies of enlisted men 
by returning salutes given, in the the manner pre- 
scribed in drill regulations. When several officers in 
company are saluted, all who are entitled to the sa- 
lute return it." 

The Infantry Drill Regulations prescribe that: 
"Enlisted men within saluting distance and not 
in ranks salute all officers." 

These two paragraphs cover the whole subject of 
the exchange of salutes by individuals. The other 
provisions of the Army Regulations and of the Drill 
Regulations are merely explanatory of the way in 
which the salute is rendered and of the occasions on 
which it is exchanged. 

How Rendered. The salute by the individual is 
rendered with the hand, the saber, or the rifle, ac- 
cording to circumstances. Under certain condi- 
tions it is rendered by standing at attention only. 



44 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

If without arms, or with the saber not drawn, the 
salute is rendered with the hand. 

If the saber be drawn, the prescribed saber sa- 
lute is rendered. 

If armed with the rifle, the proper rifle salute is 
rendered. When indoors and unarmed, the salute is 
rendered by standing at attention uncovered, fac- 
ing the one to be saluted. 

The Salute with the Hand. The Infantry Drill 
Regulations prescribes the salute with the hand as 
follows : 

"Raise the right hand smartly till the tip of the 
forefinger touches the lower part of the headdress 
above the right eye, thumb and fingers extended and 
joined, palm to the left, forearm inclined at about 
forty-five degrees, hand and wrist straight. If un- 
covered, stand at attention, without saluting." 

To complete the salute: "Drop the arm smartly 
by the side." 

The hand should be held in the position of the 
salute until the salute has been recognized and re- 
turned or until the one saluted has passed or has 
been passed. 

When saluting, both officers and enlisted men 
look toward the person saluted. 

If in motion, the salute is properly begun when 
at about six paces from the one to be saluted. 

If not in motion, the salute is rendered standing 
in the position of attention, facing the one to be sa- 
luted ; it is begun when the one to be saluted has ap- 
proached within about six paces, or, if he does not 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 45 

approach that closely, at the point of nearest ap- 
proach. 

Two errors are common in rendering the salute 
with the hand, namely, that of lowering the head to 
meet the forefinger, and that of jerking the hand 
down to the side to complete the salute. The head 
should be held erect, the chin if anything a little up- 
lifted, and in completing the salute, the hand is 
dropped quickly, but not jerkily, to the side. 

In connection with the salute with the hand, the 
Army Regulations further prescribes : 

"On all occasions outdoors, and also in public 
places, such as stores, theaters, railway and steam- 
boat stations, and the like, the salute to any person 
whatever by officers and enlisted men in uniform, 
with no arms in the hand, whether on or off duty, 
shall be the hand salute, the right hand being used, 
the headdress not to be removed." 

The Saber Salute. The salute with the saber is 
prescribed as follows: 

"The saber is raised and carried to the front, base 
of the hilt as high as the chin and six inches in front 
of the neck, edge to the left, point six inches far- 
ther to the front than the hilt, thumb extended on 
the left of the grip, all fingers grasping the grip." 

To complete the salute: "Lower the saber, point 
in prolongation of the right foot and near the 
ground, edge to the left, hand by the side, thumb 
on the left of the grip, arm extended." 

"If mounted, the hand is held behind the thigh, 
point a little to the right and in front of the stir- 
rup." 



46 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

Enlisted men execute only the first motion of the 
saber salute. When the salute has been acknow- 
ledged, the saber is brought back to the carry. 

The Rifle Salute. The Infantry Drill Regula- 
tions prescribes the rifle salute as follows: 

"Being at the right shoulder arms, carry the left 
hand smartly to the small of the stock, forearm 
horizontal, palm of hand down, thumb and forefing- 
ers extended and joined, forefinger touching the 
end of cocking piece ; look toward the person salut- 
ed." 

To complete the salute: "Drop the left hand by 
the side; turn the head and eyes to the front." 

"With the rifle on the left shoulder, the salute is 
rendered in a corresponding manner with the right 
hand." 

"Being at the order or trail arms: carry the left 
hand smartly to the right side, palm of the hand 
down, thumb and fingers extended and joined, 
forefinger against piece near the muzzle; look to- 
ward the person saluted." 

To complete the salute: "Drop the left hand by 
the side; turn the head and eyes to the front." 

If out of doors and in motion, the rifle salute is 
rendered with the piece on either shoulder. Its po- 
sition need not be changed in order to salute with 
the hand farthest from the officer. 

If out of doors and not in motion, the rifle salute 
is properly rendered from the position of attention, 
with the piece at the order arms. 

When indoors, the piece is properly carried at the 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 47 

trail, and if in motion, the salute would be rendered 
with the piece in that position. 

The Salute Indoors. Except when armed, offi- 
cers and enlisted men indoors salute by standing at 
attention and uncovering. If armed, they do not 
uncover, but stand at attention; they do not salute 
except when addressed or when they address a 
senior. 

The Salute on Official Occasions. The Army 
Regulations provide that : 

"All officers salute on making or receiving of- 
ficial reports. When the salute is introductory to 
a report made at a military ceremony or formation, 
to the representative of a common superior — as for 
example, to the adjutant, the officer of the day, etc. 
— the officer making the report, whatever his rank, 
will salute first; the officer to whom the report is 
made will acknowledge, by saluting, that he has re- 
ceived and understood the report." 

An officer makes the prescribed salute before ad- 
dressing a senior, and after having received a re- 
ply, an order, etc. 

An enlisted man makes the prescribed salute be- 
fore addressing an officer. He also makes the same 
salute after receiving a reply. 

Whom to Salute. The Army Regulations pre- 
scribe that : 

"Soldiers at all times and in all situations pay the 
same compliments to officers of the Army, Navy, 
Marine Corps, and volunteers and officers of the or- 
ganized militia in uniform as to the officers of their 
own regiment, corps or arm of the service." 



48 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

The Infantry Drill Regulations provide that : 

"Officers not in uniform are saluted if recog- 
nized." 

The Salute to the Color. The Army Regula- 
tions provide that: 

"The national or regimental color or standard, 
uncased, passing a guard or other armed body will 
be saluted, the field music sounding "to the color" 
or "to the standard". Officers or enlisted men pas- 
sing the uncased color will render the prescribed 
salute; with no arms in hand, the salute will be the 
hand salute, using the right hand, the headdress not 
to be removed." 

The Star Spangled Banner. The Army Regu- 
lations prescribe that : 

"Whenever The Star Spangled Banner is played 
at a military station, or at any place where persons 
belonging to the military service are present in their 
official capacity or present unofficially but in uni- 
form, all officers and enlisted men present will stand 
at attention, facing toward the music, retaining that 
position until the last note of the air, and then sa- 
lute. With no arms in the hand, the salute will be 
the hand salute. The same respect will be payed 
to the national air of any other country when it is 
played as a compliment to official representatives of 
such country." 

"The flag will be lowered at the sounding of the 
last note of the retreat, and while the flag is being 
lowered, the band will play the Star Spangled Ban- 
ner, or if there be no band present, the field music 
will sound "to the color". When "to the color" is 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 49 

sounded by the field music while the flag is being 
lowered the same respect will be observed as when 
the Star Spangled Banner is being played by the 
band, and in either case officers and enlisted men out 
of ranks will face toward the flag, stand at atten- 
tion, and render the prescribed salute at the last note 
of the music." 

Salutes by Armed Bodies. The salutes rendered 
by armed bodies of troops are properly classified 
under the head of Honors, but since they involve 
the matter of saluting, they are here briefly consid- 
ered. 

Armed bodies salute by executing Eyes Right 
(Left), the Present Arms, and by being called to 
attention while the commander salutes in person. 

The Eyes Right (left) is executed by troops on- 
ly when they are passing in review at reviews, par- 
ades and at guard mounting. 

The Present Arms is executed by troops only at 
ceremonies, such as reviews, parades, guard mount- 
ing, escorts of the color, of honor, funeral escorts, 
etc. 

A body of troops is brought to attention as a sa- 
lute to another body of troops, a general officer, the 
regimental, battalion or company commanders only. 
On such occasions, the commander of the troops 
salutes in person. 

An enlisted man commanding a body of troops 
less than a company, calls it to attention before sa- 
luting any officer. 

The commander of a body of troops salutes in 
person all officers senior to him, and returns the 



50 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

salutes of all officers junior to him and of all enlist- 
ed men. He does not call his troops to attention. 

Miscellaneous. When mounted, officers and en- 
listed men salute with the right hand, the left being 
engaged with the reins. 

An officer, mounted, dismounts before addressing 
a senior who is on foot. 

A mounted soldier dismounts before addressing 
an officer not mounted. 

Soldiers actually at work do not cease work to 
salute unless addressed by an officer. 

When an officer enters a room where there are 
soldiers, the word "Attention" is given by someone 
who perceives him, when all rise and remain stand- 
ing in the position of a soldier until the officer leaves 
the room. 

The foregoing practice is not confined to enlisted 
men indoors. Men grouped on the porch of bar- 
racks, near a tent, the guard tent or any other place, 
would be called to attention by the first one of the 
group to perceive an approaching officer. In strict 
interpretation of the regulations, all should then sa- 
lute; however, the custom of permitting the senior 
present to salute for all has become very generally 
recognized. 

Officers arriving at the headquarters of a mili- 
tary command, or at a military post, will call upon 
the commander thereof as soon as practicable and 
register their names. If the visiting officer be sen- 
ior to the commander, the former may send a card, 
in which case it becomes the duty of the commander 
to make the first call. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 5 1 

The interchange of courtesies between officers of 
the Army and Xavy and between officers of the 
army and civil officers is fully covered in the Army 
Regulations and should be punctiliously observed. 

When troops have been detailed to act as an es- 
cort of honor to a distinguished visitor, the post 
commander should always detail an officer to act 
as an aide to the visitor. 

Upon the arrival of a general officer in a post or 
camp, the commander should always detail a ser- 
geant to report to him as orderly. A private is sim- 
ilarly detailed as orderly for an Inspector who is 
officially present at post or camp. 

Customs of the Service. The customs of the ser- 
vice constitute a vast code, unwritten for the most 
part, which embraces practically every detail of the 
soldier's official, social and private relations. Rep- 
resenting, as it does, the precedent and practice of 
hundreds of years, it would require volumes to re- 
duce it to print. 

Even that part which refers to military courtesy 
alone is far beyond the limitation of a work of this 
kind. It is a code that can only be fully compre- 
hended by daily practice and association with mili- 
tary men in a military atmosphere. It can no more 
be reduced to definite rules than can the code of 
good breeding be incorporated in a book on eti- 
quette. There are, however, certain semi-official 
customs which may be briefly stated in a way to be 
of assistance to the beginner. Among these are : 

The Form of Address. The use of the word 
"Sir" is more general in conversation among mili- 



52 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

tary men than among civilians for the reason that 
civilians are not distinguished from each other by 
as many grades and ranks. The various regula- 
tions prescribe the use of the word with reports 
made at ceremonies, etc., and custom has prescrib- 
ed its use in all official conversation. An enlisted 
man always makes use of it in addressing an officer 
and frequently when addressing a noncommissioned 
officer. In official conversation between officers, it 
is never omitted, and it is not at all out of place in 
social conversation among officers of different ranks 
or among those of the same ranks who are not well 
acquainted. 

Use of the Third Person. In the beginning of a 
conversation with an officer, an enlisted man, ad- 
dresses the officer in the third person and refers to 
himself in the same way; thereafter, during the 
same conversation, he may properly use the first 
and second persons. For example: he says, "Sir, 
Private Smith has permission of the First Sergeant 
to speak to the Captain." Wheo asked what he 
wishes, he may properly say, "I would like to ask 
your permission, etc." 

Titles. An enlisted man always addresses an of- 
ficer or refers to him by his proper military title. 
When speaking to an officer, an enlisted man always 
refers to a noncommissioned officer by his proper 
title, such as, Sergeant Jones, Corporal Green, etc. 
He refers to a private soldier as Private So-and- 
So. In referring to a noncommissioned officer 
whose position is distinctive, or to whom the refer- 
ence is unmistakable, he may omit the name, giv- 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 53 

ing the title only. For example: he may say, "The 
First Sergeant/' when clearly referring to the first 
sergeant of his own company. 

In all official communications, officers address 
each other and refer to each other by their proper 
official titles. In the use of the titles, there are cer- 
tain variations which custom has recognized, as for 
example, all general officers are referred to and ad- 
dressed as General; a lieutenant colonel is referred 
to and addressed as Colonel; all lieutenants are re- 
ferred to and addressed as Lieutenant. 

Unofficially, the use of the titles depends large- 
ly upon the degree of intimacy existing among the 
officers themselves. Seniors sometimes omit the 
title when addressing juniors whom they know well. 
Officers of the same grade very generally omit the 
title when addressing each other, except when they 
are not well acquainted. Juniors sometimes omit 
the title when addressing a senior with whom they 
have enjoyed long acquaintance, but the better prac- 
tice is not to do so. Unofficially, all lieutenants 
are addressed and referred to as Mister. 

Calling. We have seen that Army Regulations 
require a visiting officer to call at the headquarters 
of a command or post and register his name, etc. 
It is the custom of the service for a visiting officer 
to repeat this call socially, at the quarters of the 
Commanding Officer, within the first twenty-four 
hours after his arrival. If in the post for a few 
hours only, the second call may be omitted. 

Custom requires all officers in a post, garrison or 
camp to call promptly on a newly-arrived officer, 



54 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

whatever his grade. It also requires the new arriv- 
al to return these calls promptly. After these first 
calls have been exchanged, subsequent calling is reg- 
ulated by the desires of the individuals themselves. 

Having been entertained by a brother officer, cus- 
tom requires that a social call be made upon him 
within one week. 

It is customary on New Year's Day to call on the 
Commanding officer. The full dress uniform, with 
side arms, is worn. 

Miscellaneous. When walking or riding to- 
gether, the junior always places himself on the left 
of the senior. If walking, he takes the step of the 
senior. 

If smoking, the cigar, pipe or cigarette is al- 
ways removed from the mouth before saluting or 
addressing a senior, or before returning the salute 
or address of a junior. The cigar, pipe or cigarette 
should not be held in the hand with which the salute 
is returned. 

The expression "The Commanding Officer de- 
sires, etc., is always construed as an unofficial com- 
mand. 

A junior stands aside to permit a senior to enter 
or leave a room ahead of him. 

A junior never interrupts a senior in conversa- 
tion. 

When their paths cross, the junior permits the 
senior to pass first. Similarly, a junior, at drill, 
should not march his company across the immediate 
front of an organization commanded by a senior. 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 55 

On the road, he would give the right of way to the 
senior. 

It is considered an act of courtesy to the adjutant 
to speak to him before entering the office of the com- 
manding officer. 

It is considered an act of courtesy to speak to the 
commander of an organization before communicat- 
ing verbally with a member of the organization. A 
written communication should be addressed through 
the commander of the organization. 



56 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

Chapter IV. 
MILITARY DISCIPLINE. 

The subject of discipline is the phase of military 
training which the beginner generally experiences 
the most difficulty in understanding. The reason 
for this may be laid principally to the popular and 
incomplete understanding of the meaning of the 
word, namely, that discipline is punishment, where- 
as, as a matter of fact, this conception includes only 
a special and secondary application of the word. 

Definition. The word discipline is derived from 
the word disciple, which means one who accepts the 
instruction or doctrine of another. Primarily, to 
discipline means to develop by means of instruc- 
tion, to educate, to train according to certain estab- 
lished rules ; secondarily, it means to punish by way 
of correction, and the first part of the definition 
best expresses the sense in which the term has its 
greatest significance in the military service. 

Military discipline has been defined by many au- 
thorities. In their definitions, these authorities 
have generally confined themselves to describing the 
condition which we recognize as discipline without 
indicating the manner in which it is attained. 

Military discipline has been sarcastically defined 
as being "The art of inspiring soldiers with more 
fear of their own officers than they have for the 
enemy." 

The one who wrote the foregoing definition had 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 57 

evidently observed the outward evidences of disci- 
pline, but had not inquired into the means by which 
these evidences were attained. He assumed that 
obedience, in the face of danger, could only be pre- 
served through the medium of the fear of punish- 
ment. 

Home, in his Precis of Modern Tactics, says, 
"The willing subordination of mind and body to the 
call of duty implies something more than mere out- 
ward obedience to superiors or attention to drill." 

Following the same line of thought, Goltz is of 
the opinion that the principle source of discipline in 
an army is to be sought in moral influence, although 
material conditions are not without effect. 

Kraft defines discipline as being "that intelligent 
obedience w T hich welds the independence of many 
individuals into at concentrated whole and into a 
real power." This definition embodies briefly the 
true spirit of military discipline. It is obvious that 
sixty-five men, no matter how highly trained indi- 
vidually, acting independently, will not possess the 
same offensive or defensive power as when their ef- 
forts have been bound together by the bond of discip- 
line and concentrated under the direction of one 
company commander. Nor will mere blind obed- 
ience to the orders of superiors accomplish the nec- 
essary concentration of effort; the obedience must 
be intelligent. 

The following definitions of discipline, by various 
authorities, give an idea of discipline from differ- 
ent viewpoints : 

In his Customs of the Service, General Kautz de- 



58 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

fines discipline as, "The preservation of order, the 
prevention of all kinds of offense and the faithful 
performance of every kind of duty, without delay or 
interruption." 

In his Organization and Tactics, General Wag- 
ner defines it in the following words: "Discipline 
is the quality possessed by efficient soldiers which 
causes each to appreciate and accept without ques- 
tion the powers and limitations of his rank; which 
inspires each with confidence in the military stead- 
fastness of his comrades and makes obedience to his 
lawful superiors a second nature." 

Murray defines it as, "The long continued habit 
by which the very muscles of the soldier instinctive- 
ly obey the word of command, so that no matter un- 
der what circumstances a man hears the word of 
command, even if his mind is too confused to attend, 
yet his muscles will obey." 

Darwin, in his Descent of Man, says of discip- 
line, "The superiority which discipline soldiers show 
over undisciplined masses is primarily the conse- 
quences of the confidence which each has in his com- 
rades." It may be added that this confidence is 
the result of each man's knowledge of what he and 
his comrades are capable of doing when they united 
in organized, discipline teamwork. 

From the foregoing definitions, it will be seen 
that the prevailing idea of military discipline is that 
it is a quality which proceeds from education and 
training rather than from fear, and this conception 
is borne out and emphasized in the Infantry Drill 
Regulations in its description of Disciplinary Exer- 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 59 

cises. It says, "Disciplinary Exercises are design- 
ed to teach precise and soldierly movement and to 
inculcate that prompt and subconscious obedience to 
command that is essential to proper military con- 
trol." 

For our purposes, discipline may therefore be de- 
fined as being the habit of intelligent obedience, in- 
culcated by education and training, by means of 
which order, precision and promptness is insured at 
all times. 

The Object of Military Discipline. From the 
foregoing discussion, we have seen that the object 
in general of discipline is to secure intelligent con- 
centration of effort. The success of all military 
work depends upon the ability of the commander to 
enforce his will upon those under him and to cause 
them to execute his plans with promptness and pre- 
cision. Unless he is able to do this, he cannot em- 
bark with assurance upon any plan, however sound, 
but must always anticipate the possibility of its fail- 
ing through faulty execution. As the size of the 
command increases, this condition increases accord- 
ingly. The task of handling large bodies of men, 
marching them, camping them, supplying them and 
maneuvering them in battle is a difficult one even 
when the absolute order, precision and promptness 
which we call discipline may be relied upon. As 
this condition of discipline decreases, the difficul- 
ties of the problem multiply enormously, until a 
point is finally reached where it becomes a problem 
without a possible solution. Without proper dis- 



60 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

cipline, control is out of the question and military 
employment becomes little more than mob action. 

This condition is not peculiar to the military ser- 
vice alone. In everything involving united effort, 
men must be trained to orderly and concerted ac- 
tion before efficiency may be expected. That which 
we know in the business world as shop system is 
merely discipline under another name. For ex- 
ample: in a manufacturing plant, an article may 
have to pass through the hands of several workmen 
before it is finished. Each workman has a certain 
definite task in connection with the making of the 
article. Each man's task is analyzed, studied and 
reduced to the least number of movements or oper- 
ations, and the man is trained until his hands auto- 
matically and accurately guide the article through 
these operations. It is only when each man who has 
a part to play in the making of the article has been 
trained to the same precision and accuracy, that all 
may work with the maximum efficiency, and that 
the establishment may be considered upon basis of 
efficiency and economy. 

If this order and discipline be considered neces- 
sary in commercial life, where labor is performed 
day after day under unvarying circumstances, calm- 
ly and without distraction, how much greater must 
be its necessity in the military service where the sol- 
dier's task cannot be reduced to a formula and where 
his serious work is invariably accompanied by the 
confusion which goes with excitement and the fear 
of bodily injury. 

How Evidenced. General Wagner says, "There 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 61 

are certain outward signs which are generally evi- 
dences of discipline, chief of which are a careful 
attention to the requirements of military etiquette 
and ceremonious marks of deference to one's law- 
ful military superiors. But while these visible evi- 
dences of discipline are highly desirable and should 
be sedulously cultivated, they must not be confound- 
ed with the desired quality itself. The best eviden- 
ces of true discipline are found in the unmurmur- 
ing endurance of hardships by the soldiers and in 
their willing, energetic and intelligent efforts to 
perform their whole duty in the presence of the 
enemy." 

The most conclusive evidence of discipline is to 
be found in the conduct of the soldier when under 
fire, and in its description of Fire Discipline, the 
Infantry Drill Regulations says, "Fire Discipline 
implies that, in a firing line without leaders, each 
man retains his presence of mind and directs ef- 
fective fire upon the proper target." 

The cheerful, intelligent and energetic perfor- 
mance of duty under any and all circumstances is 
an unfailing evidence of discipline. This means 
that the trained and disciplined soldier is expected 
to put his best effort into everything he does, en- 
deavoring to carry out the spirit of his orders, or, in 
the absence of orders, to that thing which he thinks 
his officers would want him to do. 

Good discipline is generally characterized by 
smart and soldierly appearance and by precise and 
accurate execution of drill. However, the reverse 
is not always true. Many non-military organiza- 



62 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

tions, totally without discipline, reach a high de- 
gree of smartness and precision in drill. 

How Attained. We have seen from the fore- 
going discussion that discipline is the product of 
proper training, accompanied, as a matter of course, 
by judicious correction and restraint. The manner 
in which discipline is to be attained and the propor- 
tions in which training and correction are to be em- 
ployed depends largely upon the men to be trained 
and the circumstances under Which they are to be 
trained. 

When dealing with men of intelligence, or with 
men who are fired by a great and just purpose, in- 
struction and training are needed in greater pro- 
portion than correction. The souls of such men 
are in their work. Their intelligence and the fix- 
edness of their purpose dictate to them the wisdom 
of submitting themselves to the control and direct- 
ion of their leaders. The inculcation of discipline 
in such men is largely a matter of teaching them 
what to do, training them to do it efficiently, and of 
appealing to their reason and their sense of pride 
to do it to the best of their ability. 

The manner in which this appeal should be made 
depends upon the men themselves, their purpose, 
their national characteristics, and the circumstances 
under which they find themselves in the military ser- 
vice. What will raise the enthusiasm and courage 
of m£n to fighting pitch at one time may fail com- 
pletely under other circumstances; what is calcu- 
lated to fire the men of one nation may merely ex- 
cite the derision of those of another. Napoleon 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 63 

understood the temperament and national character- 
istics of his men and stirred them deeply with dram- 
atic addresses. Lord Nelson rightly judged the 
temperamental caliber of his men and his laconic 
message, "England expects every man to do his 
duty," was the most potent appeal he could have 
made to them. 

General Sherman said, "There is a soul to an 
army as well as to an individual man and no gener- 
al can accomplish the full work of his army unless 
he commands the souls of his men as well as their 
bodies and their legs." How well he commanded 
the soul of his army is written in the history of 
the hardships and dangers through which he was 
able to lead them. 

In addition to understanding the souls and the 
national characteristics of his men, the successful 
disciplinarian must pay heed to psychology, must 
constantly feel the pulse of his men, must consider 
their physical condition, their mental condition, both 
in employing them and in administering disciplin- 
ary punishment or correction. The leader who at- 
tempts to apply an inflexible standard of discipline 
to all men at all times must inevitably fail. Disci- 
pline must be adapted to circumstances. Men who 
are tired and hungry, unduly elated or unduly de- 
pressed cannot be subjected to the same standard of 
discipline as men who are in normal physical condi- 
tion and temper. Hohenlohe, in his Letters on In- 
fantry, cites the example of an infantry regiment 
that had suffered a repulse in an attack during one 
of the battles of the Franco-Prussian War. Both of- 



64 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

ficers and men were ashamed, depressed and in fear 
of being censured if not punished. A general of- 
ficer, observing their condition, rode up and shouted 
to the colonel of the regiment, "Bravo, Colonel! 
that was a grand deed! The regiment went far- 
ther to the front than any. It was not your fault 
that the attack failed." The regiment recovered its 
spirit and almost immediately thereafter gave am- 
ple proof of its mettle. 

General Sheridan would have been justified by 
every authority in applying the severest disciplin- 
ary measure to his fleeing troops at Winchester, and 
bearing in mind his reputation as a disciplinarian, 
he might reasonably have been expected to do so, 
but he knew the temper of his men at the moment 
and his shout of "Turn men, we're going back!" 
had more effect than a brigade of rifles across their 
path. 

Disciplinary Training. The Infantry Drill 
Regulations indicates briefly the class of instruc- 
tion to be used as disciplinary training and, in gen- 
eral, the manner in which it is to be employed. It 
states that drills executed at attention and the cere- 
monies are disciplinary exercises and that smartness 
and precision should be exacted in the execution of 
every detail. It also prescribes that each field ex- 
ercise should be concluded with a brief drill at at- 
tention to restore men to smartness and control. 

In this connection, it should be pointed out that 
the function of these drills and exercises is not al- 
ways well understood. Many otherwise excellent 
officers seem to fail to appreciate them at their true 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 65 

value and deliberately neglect them for the more 
attractive and practical field work. To those who 
are not familiar with the stern necessity for abso- 
lute disciplinary control, the parade and drill ground 
drudgery may seem a waste of time and energy. It 
may well be asked by the uninitiated: why should 
hours, days, even weeks, be spent in teaching a man 
to stand in a certain way, to walk after a certain 
fashion, or to carry his rifle in a certain position; 
what difference does it make whether he faces to the 
right about or to the left about ; or whether he stands 
next in ranks to Smith one day and next to Brown 
the following day? Of themselves, we must admit 
that these details are not important. As disciplin- 
ary training, they are all-important. They are part 
of the process by which the man is trained to regard 
every detail of military duty as a task requiring 
precise and accurate execution; part of the process 
of habituating his muscles to prompt and subcon- 
scious obedience to command; in other words; they 
are part of the process by which the man is trained 
to do his duty accurately and precisely in spite of 
himself. It is the process by which the control of 
men is insured. The duties of the soldier are not 
intricate or difficult of performance. They are 
within the grasp of any man of ordinary intelli- 
gence, and the object of the exhaustive and reiter- 
ated training in their performance is not so much 
to teach him how to do them, as to insure that he 
will always do them accurately and promptly when 
he is told. 

The desired condition of disciplinary training 



66 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

may be illustrated by the action of a trained sol- 
dier in executing the manual of arms. He will ex- 
ecute any number of the movements, in whatever 
sequence they may be ordered, with machine-like 
accuracy and precision, and at the end of the exer- 
cise will be unable, except in the most general way, 
to describe what he has executed, thus indicating 
conclusively that his response to the voice of com- 
mand has been almost entirely subconscious. 

Without entering into a discussion of the rela- 
tive values of disciplinary and field training, it is 
sufficient to say that, without control, all training 
loses much of its value. Moreover, with men under 
proper control, the labor of instructing them and 
training them is reduced to the minimum. They 
need only be told what to do and how to do it. 

Discipline, How Promoted. We have seen that 
instruction and training is the first and best method 
of promoting discipline. In addition, it may be 
promoted by means of judicious rewards for good 
work and good conduct and of punishment for poor 
work and misbehavior. 

One phase of disciplinary instruction has not yet 
been touched upon. It is that of the instruction 
in orders, regulations and customs of the service. 
When the newcomer enters the military service, he 
finds himself amid surroundings and in an atmos- 
phere entirely new and strange to him. He is con- 
fronted by new conditions of life and his conduct 
is regulated by an array of rules and regulations 
foreign to anything he has known before. Unless 
he is carefully instructed in these rules and reg- 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 67 

illations, he will unintentionally and constantly vio- 
late them, in other words, will learn them only by 
breaking them. This will give rise to constant cor- 
rection and it will not be long before the recruit 
will be convinced that it is impossible for him to do 
anything properly ; his simplest task will take on the 
character of an intricate and difficult performance 
and in the end, he will be discouraged into hopeless 
stupidity. 

Judicious rewards have the same eff ect in the mili- 
tary service as elsewhere. Men in every walk of 
life like to feel that their work is appreciated. The 
soldier possibly has more of this feeling than the 
average man in civil life, since in civil life good 
work brings its own rewards in material form not 
possible in the military service. When the soldier 
has merely done his duty, there is no occasion to 
commend him — he has merely done what he has 
been paid to do. Undue praise in time will con- 
vey to him the idea that his conduct has been ex- 
ceptional when he merely does his duty. On the 
other hand, to withhold all praise or reward from 
him, no matter how faithful his work may be, will 
result in discouraging him and leading him to be- 
lieve that it does not matter how he does his work. 
There is no rule to follow. Each man presents a 
different case. When a man has done his duty ex- 
ceptionally well, tell him so ; if only fairly well, tell 
him nothing ; if poorly, tell him so. In general the 
reward most appreciated by the soldier, is the assur- 
ance, conveyed to him in a dignified manner, that he 
enjoys the confidence and the esteem; of his seniors. 



68 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 

All men do not enter the service with the idea 
of giving faithful service. Many men who are 
careless and indifferent, or who are opposed to all 
idea of restraint and order find their way into the 
service and spend the years of their enlistment in en- 
deavoring to evade their duties and responsibili- 
ties. With these men discipline must be enforced 
by means of punishment. A dread of punishment 
must be made to exceed their laziness and their 
hatred of restraint. The fear of their officers must 
exceed that of the enemy. 

In the use of disciplinary punishment, however, 
the fundamental idea should be that it is imperson- 
al; that it is not inflicted by the individual, but by 
the office he holds; that it is not inflicted with the 
desire to show superiority or authority, but from a 
sense of duty; not for the purpose of injuring, but 
for the purpose of correcting. 

The Army Regulations prescribe that, "Military 
authority will be exercised with firmness, kindness 
and justice. Punishments must conform to the law 
and follow offenses as promptly as circumstances 
will permit. Superiors are forbidden to injure 
those under their authority by tyrannical or capri- 
cious conduct or by abusive language." 

Punishment should be suited to the offender as 
well as to the offense. It is the boast of some offic- 
ers that all men look alike to them, a statement 
equivalent to an admission of inefficiency. No two 
men are alike in disposition or temperament any 
more than they are in physical appearance, and the 
regulations of the military service cannot make them 



Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 6f) 

so. The punishment which may be effective with 
one man may merely serve to aggravate another to 
further misconduct. There are many cases where 
an admonition, property administered, is of more 
value as a corrective measure than a sentence of a 
month in the guard house. To make his discipline 
effective, the officer must study his men and fit his 
punishment to their offenses as he does their clothes 
to their bodies. 

The mistake is frequently made of thinking that 
punishment must be severe in order to be effective. 
Such is not the case. Severe punishment is apt to 
react and make the man so punished stubborn and 
unrepentant; it should be reserved for wilful diso- 
bedience and misbehavior. If in doubt as to which 
of two punishments to give a man, give him the 
lighter of the two, holding the severer one in re- 
serve. Statistics show conclusively that in armies 
where the code of disciplinary punishments is severe 
and inflexible, the discipline is correspondingly low 
and the reverse. It is said on the best of authority 
that the standard of discipline was never higher in 
the German Army than during the period immed- 
iately preceding and during the Franco-Prussian 
War when their code of punishment was exceed- 
ingly mild. On the other hand, Farrar, in his 
Military Manners, says, "The conduct of the Brit- 
ish Army was never worse than in the days when 
1000 lashes were common sentences." 

The essential feature of disciplinary punishment 
should not be severity, but should be the prompt and 



70 Military Character, Habit, Deportment, Courtesy, Discipline 



unfailing visitation of correction upon those who 
deserve it, until it comes to be regarded as the in- 
evitable consequence of misconduct, just as a child 
comes to regard a painful burn as the consequence 
of playing with fire. 



OCT 22 1913 

V 



